Integrating Four Theories of Adolescent Smoking

• NCJ Number: 205006
• Journal: Substance Use & Misuse Volume: 39 Issue: 2 Dated: January 2004 Pages: 179-209
• Author(s): Rebecca L. Collins; Phyllis L. Ellickson
• Date Published: January 2004
• Length: 31 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01CA80287
• Sponsoring Agency: National Cancer Institute
• Corporate Author: Rand Corporation
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study tested four theories of adolescent smoking -- the Theory of Planned Behavior, Social Learning Theory, Social Attachment Theory, and Problem Behavior Theory -- against an integrated model that incorporates predictors from all the theories.

Abstract

The integrated model also tested whether constructs from each theory contributed distinct variance in the prediction of smoking. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is one of a number of theories that emphasize the role of cognition in behavior, with the central hypothesis being that behavior is determined by behavioral intentions. Although social learning theories recognize the role of cognition in behavior, they emphasize that cognition originates from observing others. Social attachment theories focus on attachments to conventional institutions, commitment to conventional behavior, and belief in the legitimacy of the social order as the keys to preventing deviant behavior. Problem Behavior Theory (PBT) views behaviors such as smoking as a part of a system of psychosocial variables that reciprocally influence one another. For the current study, predictors measured at grade 7 in 1985 were used to model smoking 3 years later in 1988 in a sample of 4,186 youth. Variables measured planned behavior, social learning, social attachment, and problem behavior. Demographics were also documented. At grade 10, 27.5 percent of the weighted sample were current smokers, and almost half of these (13 percent of the total weighted sample) were frequent smokers. All four theory-specific models were an adequate fit to the current-smoking data on the sample. In all of the models, the single best predictor of grade-10 smoking was whether the adolescent already smoked at grade 7. The integrated model was superior to any one of the theory-based models. A few predictors varied for current compared with frequent smoking outcomes. These results indicate the need for a multifaceted approach to explaining and preventing adolescent smoking. 5 tables and 35 references